Victim named in fatal March stabbing at Springfield house party

Springfield police have identified the victim of a fatal stabbing at a house party in March as Kevin Jose Marrero-Rivera, 23, of Quincy Street.

Three people were stabbed in the early hours of Saturday, March 28, when a party at 73 Cambridge Street turned violent, according to police. Marrero-Rivera died after being rushed to the hospital; his was Springfield's ninth homicide of the year.

Marrero-Rivera was not immediately identified, and by the time police learned his name the press had stopped asking for it, according to Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney.

"Because of the confusion at the time, and he didn't have any identification on him, it took a little while," Delaney said. "Like a day or two."

An online death notice said services for Marrero-Rivera were held at Henderson Funeral Home and that he was to be buried in Puerto Rico.

No one has been charged in the man's death, Delaney said. Marrero-Rivera had convictions for heroin and cocaine distribution on his record, according to Delaney, though it was unclear whether any criminal affiliations he had were linked to the Cambridge Street fray. Asked whether the fight was random or gang-related, Delaney said it was "half and half."

In addition to the three stabbing victims, another person was cut by a beer bottle during the fight. The homicide was the fifth in the month of March; city officials responded with a press conference where Police Commissioner John Barbieri, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and other law enforcement figures called for residents to call police before gatherings get out of hand.

"If you live by the sword, many times you're going to die by the sword," Mayor Domenic Sarno said at the press conference, attributing many of the recent homicides to targeted violence among Springfield residents. The remark drew criticism from Mayoral challengers Sal Circosta and Johnnie Ray McKnight, who called Sarno insensitive to grieving families.

Marrero-Rivera and another stabbing victim were being rushed to the hospital shortly before 5 a.m. when their car was involved in an accident Oak Grove Avenue and State Street, police said. The third victim was found on Cambridge Street.